Three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in an oscillatory flow.

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Title: Three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in an oscillatory flow.
Authors: He, Fang1, Yang, Tianxiang1, Ju, Xiaoying2, Zhao, Yuhe1, Jiang, Hongyi1,3 hongyi.jiang@zju.edu.cn
Source: Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 3/10/2026, Vol. 1030, p1-13. 13p.
Subjects: Transition flow, Flow instability, Unsteady flow, Vortex shedding, Fluid dynamics, Dimensionless numbers, Coherent structures
Abstract: The two-dimensional to three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in a sinusoidal oscillatory flow arises from the Honji instability at a critical Keulegan-Carpenter number (denoted KCcr) with a corresponding critical spanwise wavelength (denoted λcr) for a given Stokes number (denoted β) larger than approximately 50. However, significant discrepancies in the KCcr and λcr values exist among the theoretical predictions by Hall (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 146, 1984, pp. 347-367), empirical formulae by Sarpkaya (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 457, 2002, pp. 157-180) and other experimental and numerical results in the literature. These long-standing discrepancies are addressed in this study, and new equations for KCcr and λcr are proposed for β =55-106. The present KCcr and λcr values agree well with the Floquet analysis results of Elston et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 550, 2006, pp. 359-389) for β ~50-100, and asymptotically converge to theoretical predictions by Hall (1984) as β→∞, but deviate significantly from the empirical formulae by Sarpkaya (2002). The underlying physical mechanisms for these deviations are elucidated. In addition, we reproduce the quasi-coherent structure (QCS) numerically for the first time, and demonstrate that the QCS observed by Sarpkaya (2002), where transient Honji vortices become pronounced near peak flow velocities but diminish during deceleration, is physically induced by ambient disturbances inevitably contained in physical experiments, such that KCcr given by Sarpkaya (2002) is specific to the level of disturbance in his experimental setting and is somewhat arbitrary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in an oscillatory flow.
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  Data: The two-dimensional to three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in a sinusoidal oscillatory flow arises from the Honji instability at a critical Keulegan-Carpenter number (denoted KCcr) with a corresponding critical spanwise wavelength (denoted λcr) for a given Stokes number (denoted β) larger than approximately 50. However, significant discrepancies in the KCcr and λcr values exist among the theoretical predictions by Hall (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 146, 1984, pp. 347-367), empirical formulae by Sarpkaya (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 457, 2002, pp. 157-180) and other experimental and numerical results in the literature. These long-standing discrepancies are addressed in this study, and new equations for KCcr and λcr are proposed for β =55-106. The present KCcr and λcr values agree well with the Floquet analysis results of Elston et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 550, 2006, pp. 359-389) for β ~50-100, and asymptotically converge to theoretical predictions by Hall (1984) as β→∞, but deviate significantly from the empirical formulae by Sarpkaya (2002). The underlying physical mechanisms for these deviations are elucidated. In addition, we reproduce the quasi-coherent structure (QCS) numerically for the first time, and demonstrate that the QCS observed by Sarpkaya (2002), where transient Honji vortices become pronounced near peak flow velocities but diminish during deceleration, is physically induced by ambient disturbances inevitably contained in physical experiments, such that KCcr given by Sarpkaya (2002) is specific to the level of disturbance in his experimental setting and is somewhat arbitrary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1017/jfm.2026.11245
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Transition flow
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Flow instability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Unsteady flow
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vortex shedding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fluid dynamics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Dimensionless numbers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Coherent structures
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Three-dimensional wake transition of a circular cylinder in an oscillatory flow.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: He, Fang
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            NameFull: Yang, Tianxiang
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            NameFull: Ju, Xiaoying
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            NameFull: Zhao, Yuhe
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            NameFull: Jiang, Hongyi
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            – D: 10
              M: 03
              Text: 3/10/2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 1030
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
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